Many pear varieties are characterized by exceptionally vigorous branch growth, the formation of which at the crown is a necessary care procedure.Young shoots can grow vertically upwards, creating very sharp angles of bifurcations with the trunk. In the following years, this may cause the whole limbs to break off, especially in the year of abundant fruiting.
To avoid such situations, it is necessary to constantly bend the shoots to a more horizontal position.With traditional cultivation, it is quite a chore, because you have to hang weights or constantly bend the shoots with a string. A significant facilitation may be the cultivation of pear trees in a form that is flat against the wall.
Thanks to the use of a truss placed between the wall and the tree, all shoots can be easily attached to the scaffolding.The branches, bent in this way to the horizontal, take the correct position after some time.Bending alone is not enough, however, and in the case of pear trees cultivated in this way, it is also necessary to cut them properly. However, it is not difficult and requires only regularity.
The first pruning is done in the second half of May, when the newly grown shoots will be approx. 20 centimeters long. These twigs are usually covered with only leaves and therefore undesirable in the crown.Usually they are easy to recognize, because they end with a pointed leaf bud.We do not cut them completely, but shorten them, leaving 4-5 leaves . However, we do not trim the shoots at all, because the vast majority of fruit are formed on them.The shoots are easy to recognize as they are strongly thickened and quite short. With any type of crown, shoots are very desirable.
